Overview

Curving Blackett's Ridge from UN 4409

Northeast of Tucson, Arizona, is a land of rugged ridges and deep canyons. Rising up between the breathtaking Sabino Canyon and neighboring Bear Canyon is a jagged peninsula of land known as “Blackett’s Ridge.” Lining this ridge, trending roughly east-to-west and rising in elevation from lowest to highest, are frequently-visited UN 4409, the sinister-looking, UN 5001, famous Thimble Peak, and often-overlooked UN 5420.

This specific peak has a bit of an identity crisis. When locals says they’re “doing Blackett’s Ridge,” they typically mean they are hiking the trail from the Sabino Canyon parking lot to the terminus of the trail – just below the summit block of UN 4409. (Few have reported traversing the entire jagged line of Blackett’s Ridge.) USGS maps indicate a landform name of Saddle Back, though if you mentioned you were going to the summit of Saddle Back, most locals would have no clue what you were talking about. If Blackett’s Ridge could be said to have a summit, it would be UN 5420. So, for the purpose of this page, we’ll call this officially un-named mountain UN 4409.

Getting There

Northwest from trail

Grass and Rock

The vast majority of visitors to this summit will access the peak from the southwest, parking at the Sabino Canyon Recreation area. Here are driving directions:

Per Friends of Sabino Canyon:
From the intersection of Kolb Road and Tanque Verde Road, turn right on Tanque Verde and travel less than a mile to the intersection with Sabino Canyon Road. Turn left onto Sabino Canyon Road and travel north 4.5 miles. The park entrance will be on your right, just after the intersection with Sunrise.

The Sabino Canyon parking lot can fill up on nice weekends, so get there early or park on the side of the road near the entrance.

Mom enjoying lunch

Me on summit

Mom on summit

Red Tape

Thimble Peak from UN 4409

•This summit and the primary route to it reside within National Forest Land that is open for recreational use.
•Dogs are not allowed in the main canyon area, or on the Bear Canyon or Sabino Canyon trails.
•There is a $5 per vehicle fee to park in the Sabino Canyon lot.
•This mountain resides within the Pusch Ridge Wilderness. Please follow LNT (Leave No Trace) principals:

Camping

Crazy Cactus

Summit bird

There are no campgrounds immediately near the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area.
The Santa Catalina Ranger District operates several campgrounds along the Santa Catalina Highway en route to Mount Lemmon. These are (in distance up the highway from the valley):

• Molino Campground
• General Hitchcock Campground
• Rose Canyon Lake

Nice neighborhood!

Vastness of Sabino Canyon

Blackett's Ridge

Pondering Sabino Canyon

Weather & Seasons

Month

Avg High

Avg Low

Rain

January

64.5 F

38.9 F

0.99 in.

February

68.4 F

41.6 F

0.88 in.

March

73.3 F

45.1 F

0.81 in.

April

81.5 F

50.5 F

0.28 in.

May

90.4 F

58.6 F

0.24 in.

June

100.2 F

68.0 F

0.24 in.

July

99.6 F

73.4 F

2.07 in.

August

97.4 F

72.4 F

2.30 in.

September

94.0 F

67.7 F

1.45 in.

October

84.0 F

57.0 F

1.21 in.

November

72.3 F

45.1 F

0.67 in.

December

64.6 F

39.2 F

1.03 in.

*A trip to this summit, thanks to low elevation, would be most comfortable in the fall,winter or spring.

*March and April are primo wildflower viewing months.

*Summer temperatures in this part of the Sonorandesert can be worse than uncomfortable;they can be downright dangerous!

*According to the United States National Weather Service,the record high temperature for Tucson, Arizona,set on 26th June 1990, was 117 degrees Farenheit/ 47 degrees Celsius.